The increasing prevalence of weaponized drones, especially first-person-view (FPV) kamikaze types, and other man-portable precision munitions could lead to a change in the U.S. Marine Corps’ famous mantra of “every Marine a rifleman,” according to the general who oversees the training of the service’s new recruits.

Marine Lt. Gen. Benjamin Watson, who is currently head of Marine Corps Training and Education Command (TECOM), talked yesterday about how the evolving nature of modern warfare is also impacting the very core of his service’s warrior ethos. Watson’s remarks came during a panel discussion on Marine Corps modernization at the Navy League’s Sea Air Space 2025 exhibition.

“One of our mantras, kind of bumper stickers, which has real meaning for us culturally as a service, is sort of ‘every Marine [a] rifleman,'” Watson said. Now, “the idea [is] that any Marine, using a precision weapon, can kill somebody who needs killing at ranges up to 500 meters.”

“You think about that, and that’s still important, right, being able to achieve combat overmatch at that echelon,” he added. “But now, if you use technology, that same Marine can be just as lethal at ranges out to 15 to 20 kilometers and beyond.”